Sergey Karjakin: Inspired by the Meeting in the Book House
A winner of the "Region” Group of Companies’ Cup answers Vladimir Barsky’s questions
– Sergey, my congratulations on your victory! How was the tournament unfolding for you?
– The day preceding it was quite a test! On the morning our arrival in Moscow from the training camp, Katya Lagno and I were participating in the 12 o'clock ITAR-TASS’s press conference dedicated to the upcoming blitz tournament. There followed a remarkable meeting with the children in the Book House on the New Arbat, where I first started by answering questions and then went on to give a simul on 37 boards. I want to thank Boris Savchenko and all those who helped organize the simul because I would never have coped alone within the time frame allotted to this event.
As the meeting was taking several hours, some friends of mine were tempting me with questions like, “Why all this effort? You have a tournament to play tomorrow after all!” However, I told them that not giving a simul to the children was not an option. I am very happy to have given the simul and communicated with the young players as it was a source of inspiration to me.
The thing is, I was invited to my close friend’s birthday party that evening and, honestly speaking, I started thinking that I would never make it to the tournament the following day. (laughing).It happened otherwise as I managed to take first! Sometimes you happen to feel exhausted, but then a second wind opens and everything starts coming your way all by itself.
– How interesting is such a communication with the children?
– I enjoy it. It is clear that they are unlikely aware of any opening novelties, but this live communication with children is is always an uplifting experience. By the way, it was not a simul to some small kids, but facing me was a very strong team representing the Intellect club. I lost one game, and for good reason so. This said, I was slow to realize my opponent’s superb level of performance. Having committed a couple of opening inaccuracies, I found myself being gradually punished for it. (laughing).If I were to realize who I have to deal with, I would have acted quite differently. The children gave a superb display of their skills, which must have motivated me into pulling myself together for today's tournament.
– Was the early start of the blitz tournament a challenge to you?
– It was a challenge indeed! But for the tournament, I would have probably slept into the afternoon. Thanks to my wife Galiya who came and supported me throughout the entire event -- we walked and talked together in between the rounds. Her support was invaluable to me!
– What was your progress curve?
– Strange as it may sound, round one was quite a challenge...
– Was it for lack of sleep or opponent’s performance?
– Honestly speaking, it feels as if modern chess has no weaklings at all! You need to deliver a smooth and stable performance, and winning a game takes as few mistakes as possible. In the very first game I was Black against Alisher Suleimenov of Kazakhstan. I was slightly worse, but the mutual time trouble enabled me to turn the tables and win the endgame. I was White in the return game, in which I enjoyed a comfortable position, but the fight was tense anyway.
– What matchups proved the most demanding?
– There were at least two of them. The first was against Rauf Mamedov, whom I classify as a wonderful blitz player. I was better throughout most part of game one, but not far from a draw. Then I outfoxed him, and a victory seemed a sure thing when he came up with an incredible defensive resource. I had to transpose into the pawnless endgame, which was very interesting, by the way, as I had a rook and a pair of knights vs his rook and a knight. I was avoiding the trade of knights, at which point it became clear that keeping this position together was anything but easy for the weaker side. This balance of material is likely to be winning in certain cases. Anyway, it was crucial to pocket this game, and then I managed to defeat him in the return game as well. This is when I felt I could win the event.
A matchup against Eduardo Iturrizaga was, perhaps, a decisive one. Being a first player in game one, I came up with a reckless exchange sac. I was objectively worse, but then the time trouble came in with its usual hectic play and I managed to trick my opponent tactically. It was an interesting game with a scenario typical for blitz as I ditched an exchange, a dubious decision perhaps, but it worked out well for me nonetheless!
My only omission in this tournament (I should actually count myself blessed, if anything) is that I had to win the second game from a Venezuelan chess player, but it was a draw.
Going into the last round and having familiarized myself with the tournament standings, I realized that two draws would be enough for me to take clear first. This is why I did not mind this scenario.
I would also like to point to my matchup against Fedoseev, who is a superb blitz player as well. I managed to win game one as Black in style, whereas in game two I was objectively lucky. Vladimir performed well in the opening, but then lessened his grip somewhat so that I managed to turn the tides, at which point he blundered material. It was also a tough match, and a 2:0 victory over Fedoseev is worth its weight in gold.
– The second place was unexpectedly taken by the Spanish grandmaster David Anton. Have you ever met him over the board before?
– I do not recall ever playing him before. I faced him in the ultimate round, when two draws were enough for me. I was the second player in game one. It was objectively equal when we transposed into the endgame, and he accepted my draw offer. Playing White in game two, I sealed a draw rather quickly. I acted based on the tournament situation. Were it not the ultimate round, it would have been a full-fledged contest. He is obviously a well-versed positional player. It is sometimes more of a challenge to face players who know how to best deploy their pieces than those who count more on tactical tricks. If you trade queens, the tactics fizzles out, and facing positional players is never easy.
– Are you happy about your performance? Were you in the right mindset going into the games?
– I am quite happy about my performance, thanks God! I am happy about my progress as I managed to not go down even in a single game. Of course, this is a blitz tournament and you cannot have every position going your way, but it was a relatively plain sailing in general.
– How many of these tournaments have you won?
– Four, seems like.
– Are you in good spirits now on the eve of heading to Astana?
– I am! Taking inspiration from what has happened would be another way of putting it. I hope Astana will be a good experience both for the team and for me.
